The Union Cabinet on Thursday approved bills to implement ‘One Nation, One Election’, and the draft legislation is likely to be introduced in Parliament in the ongoing Winter session, sources said.
The decision was taken at a meeting of the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
This decision follows the recommendations of a high-level committee chaired by former President Ram Nath Kovind, which had been advocating for this change since its formation in September 2023.
The proposal, now set for legislative action, seeks to conduct simultaneous elections for the Lok Sabha, state assemblies, and local bodies, which include municipalities and panchayats.
According to the approved plan, the implementation will occur in two phases: first, aligning the elections for the Lok Sabha and state assemblies, followed by local body elections within 100 days of the general elections.
The government is aiming to bring it in the ongoing Winter session of Parliament.
The sources said once the bill or bills are introduced in Parliament, the government would like to refer the measures to a joint committee of the two Houses for wider consultations.
The government is also keen to consult all the Speakers of various state legislative assemblies through committees.
In September, sources had said that the government is likely to bring three bills, including two to amend the Constitution, to put in place its plan to hold simultaneous elections.
Moving ahead with its ‘one nation, one election’ plan, the government in September accepted the recommendations of the high-level committee for holding simultaneous polls for the Lok Sabha, state assemblies, and local bodies in a phased manner.
Citing recommendations of the high-level committee, sources had said one of the proposed bills would seek to amend Article 82A by adding sub-clause (1) relating to the ‘appointed date’. It will also seek to insert subclause (2) to Article 82A relating to the end of terms of the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies together.
It also proposes to amend Article 83(2) and insert new sub-clauses (3) and (4) relating to the duration and dissolution of the Lok Sabha. It also has provisions related to the dissolution of the legislative assemblies and amending Article 327 to insert the term “simultaneous elections.
This bill will not require ratification by at least 50 per cent of the states, the recommendation said.
The proposed second Constitutional Amendment Bill will require ratification by at least 50 per cent of the state assemblies as it will deal with matters relating to state affairs.
It will seek to amend constitutional provisions relating to the preparation of electoral rolls by the Election Commission (EC) in consultation with State Election Commissions (SECs) for elections to local bodies.
Constitutionally, the EC and SECs are separate bodies. The EC holds elections to the posts of the President, the Vice President, Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, state assemblies, and state legislative councils, while the SECs are mandated to conduct polls for local bodies such as municipalities and panchayats.
The proposed second Constitution amendment bill will also create provisions to hold simultaneous elections to municipalities and panchayats, along with elections to Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies, by inserting a new Article 324A.
The third bill will be an ordinary one to amend provisions in three laws dealing with Union territories having legislative assemblies—Puducherry, Delhi, and Jammu and Kashmir—to align the terms of these Houses with other legislative assemblies and the Lok Sabha as proposed in the first constitutional amendment bill.
The statutes it proposes to amend are the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Act-1991, the Government of Union Territories Act-1963 and the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act-2019.
The proposed bill will be ordinary legislation not requiring a change in the Constitution and will also not need ratification by the states.
The high-level committee had proposed amendments to three Articles, the insertion of 12 new sub-clauses in the existing articles and tweaking three laws related to Union Territories having legislative assemblies. The total number of amendments and new insertions stands at 18.
In its report submitted to the government in March, just before the general election was announced, the panel recommended implementing “one nation, one election” in two phases.
There was no clarity yet on the number of bills the government plans to bring for holding simultaneous polls in the country.
